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NFL Honors 2026: 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey named Comeback Player of the Year

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh02/06/26griffin_mcveigh

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey has won NFL Comeback Player of the Year. McCaffrey heard his name called on Thursday night in his home city, taking in the NFL Honors award ceremony. But after bouncing back in a big way in 2025, the honor goes to one of the league’s top players.

McCaffrey only played in four games last season, missing a significant amount of time due to injury. A lot of hard work went into getting back on the field. Thankfully, the running back was able to appear in all 17 regular season games for the 49ers. And partially due to his success, two playoff games.

During the regular season, McCaffrey rushed for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns on 311 carries. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan knows he can use McCaffrey in more ways than one. The 49ers deployed McCaffrey out there in the pass game plenty, recording 924 receiving yards on 102 catches. Another seven touchdowns were recorded as well.

Those playoff numbers are not too shabby either. McCaffrey going for 83 yards on the ground over two games is not his best work. His stats through the air make up for it, though, with 11 receptions for 105 yards and two scores.

“I think this was one of the most impressive seasons by an individual player ever, just in terms of what a warrior and man he is week in and week out,” Shanahan said of McCaffrey. “To do that for every week and to do it 17 weeks in a row, not getting a bye week until December, and then to do it these last two games, Christian finds a way every week. He commits to himself 24 hours a day, seven days a week to get his body [right to make it] possible to go out there and compete.

“I’ve never been around anything like that, the dude was unbelievable, his dedication to really empty the tank every single game, and to be able to do that that many games in a row is something I’ve never really seen before.”

McCaffrey beat out some quality players for Comeback Player of the Year. Stefon Diggs, Aidan Hutchinson, Trevor Lawrence, and Dak Prescott were the other four candidates. Injuries were their issue too, putting together successful campaigns after going through the rehab process. Unfortunately for them, McCaffrey got the slight edge from the award’s voters.